ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Sanford Burnham may have to return millions of dollars to taxpayers.
Channel 9's Michael Lopardi obtained a letter from the Department of Economic Opportunity calling on the medical-research center to stay open in Orlando, or return the millions in tax incentives that the facility has received.
The letter said Sanford Burnham has received about $155 million just from the state.
If the center leaves early, the state said it wants at least half of that money back.
The state said in the letter that it’s prepared to take legal action to get some incentive money back if Sanford Burnham leaves Orlando anytime soon.
“That's a contract that they went into, not just with the state of Florida, but with Florida taxpayers. And that money belongs to us, the taxpayers,” said Andres Malave with Americans for Prosperity Florida.
The future of the biomedical research center is up in the air. Facing financial struggles, the institute was in discussions to fold into the University of Florida. But just last week, that deal was put on hold.
The state letter accuses Sanford Burnham of breaking the deal by not creating the promised 303 jobs and demands half of the incentive money be returned by Nov. 15 if the research center leaves Florida.
“The state of Florida should do everything they possibly can to get every last cent of that money back and hopefully, it sort of serves as an example for them to not get into these risky ventures in the future,” Malave said.
Sanford Burnham responded in a statement that "does not believe there is any merit to the allegation and a detailed response will be given to the state in due course.”
The research center didn't say whether it will stay or go. Eyewitness News asked if there are any new options for the center to stay open, but did not get an answer.
Orange County contributed an additional $45 million toward the building.
Mayor Teresa Jacobs said the local funding partners would take over the building if the lease is broken.
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